More User Reviews:

the beer pours a crystal clear golden straw color with a large frothy white head that recedes quickly and leaves moderate lacing

The flavor and aroma are very similar and comprised mainly of bready malt, and just the slightest hint of floral hops

overall the beer is very clean and quite good, a little lighter than most Marzen style beers I've had, but very good. A lot better than many of the overly sweet American versions that I've had. (476 characters)

330 ml bottle into dimpled mug, bottled on 4/16/2014. Pours fairly crystal clear bright gold color with a 1 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of lemon, pear, apple, cracker, bread, light honey, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance of pale malt, earthy hops, and yeast ester notes; with solid strength. Taste of lemon, pear, apple, cracker, bread, light honey, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Slight earthy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon cracker, bread, light honey, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice balance and robustness of pale malt, earthy hops, and yeast ester flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, crisp, and clean mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice pale Oktoberfest style. All around good balance and robustness of pale malt, earthy hops, and yeast ester flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A nicely enjoyable offering. (1,285 characters)

Bright canary yellow chock full of large bubbles passing small bubbles on their mutual journey up to a polished ivory cap. Is this really an Oktoberfest? I know that 'fest' appears in the name, but it doesn't look like any beer of that style that I've ever seen. Frankly, it looks like a Munich helles lager. It's a good looking one too, especially given a better than average display of lace.

The sniff test tells me that Festbier is anything but an Oktoberfest. It's noble hoppy, probably Saaz, with plenty of lemony brightness. No malt is appreciated in the nose, so it's gotta be pils malt. Now that we have the style confusion sorted out... this is another wonderful smelling beer from the good folks at Brauerei Weihenstephan.

Definitely a Saaz-hopped lager. I'd love to taste this one side-by-side with Weihenstephaner Original since that one is designated as a Munich helles lager. The differences and similarities would be interesting and instructive, I'll bet. Unfortunately, this beer doesn't appear on the brewery's website, so I have no idea what the people who created it think it is.

Festbier is obviously a hop-focused lager with plenty of pungent, citrusy goodness in each mouthful. It's acceptably balanced with a restrained sweetness lurking in the shadows. Most hopheads would consider it to be balanced, even if the majority of beer drinkers wouldn't. I'm glad it comes in pint bottles since I'm enjoying it so much.

The light mouthfeel could stand more bubbles. It lacks a certain expansiveness in the mouth, a light creaminess that more carbonation would provide. While the mouthfeel that has been provided enhances drinkability, it falls a bit short in terms of pleasurabilty.

Weihenstephaner Festbier is a good little noble-hopped lager from a world-class outfit. Even though it's one of my least favorite offerings from 'The World's Oldest Brewery', it's going up against some pretty stiff competition with the likes of Hefeweissbier and Korbinian. Bottom line: you really can't go wrong with any beer that has Weihenstephaner on the label. (2,071 characters)

Iam reviewing this beer for what it is because it is not a marzen/oktoberfest style of beer if I reviewed to that style well it wouldnt work.Poured into a .5 liter stein a clear medium golden with a tight formed creamy-like white head that left a broken ring of lace behind.Pretty clean aromas a bit of toastiness and iron a decent spicey hop smack that lingers.To me this is a full flavord and bodied pilsner toasty malt with a bit of residual honey sweetness almost to the doughy point but not quite a leafy,herbal hop profile in the finish.This is a pretty good beer why such a renowned brewery would label it a Fest well I have no idea it is what it is and its decent. (672 characters)

Taste  The flavors are big, especially the stiff hop balance. The malts are absolutely gorgeous though. They are just ever so lightly toasted with that beautiful grain aftertaste one can only find in a quality German lager.

Mouthfeel  This is not quite medium-bodied with moderate carbonation and a rich, creamy finish.

Drinkability  This doesnt knock your socks off like the weizen offerings from Weihenstephaner but it is a solid Festbier. (654 characters)

I have been looking forward to trying this beer for a while and boy did it not disappoint.

A - This beer was poured into an imperial pint glass. This beer is absolutely gorgeous. It is a nice golden/hay like color with about two fingers length of head that slowly dissipates into a thin layer which maintains throughout. This beer looks absolute refreshing.

S - The smell is pure malts. There is very little spice presence which seems to be popular in the American versions I have tried.

T - This beer is incredibly refreshing. The malts really shine. However, what is most appealing is the subtle apple and pear notes that come through in the finish. This is absolutely addicting to drink. I wish I had bought more than two.

M - Light, refreshing, crisp. Just perfect for the style.

O - I really really really enjoy this beer. I have been trying to get my hand on as many of this style as I can this year and this one has been by far my favorite. This beer is incredibly addicting. I would suggest picking up a couple of six packs and enjoying throughout gameday for a perfect combination of the season. (1,111 characters)

Not a bad example of an "Oktoberfest" style beer. I like a more amber color than what this brew gives you, but it doesn't fall short on flavor. Full flavors but with an excellent drinkability that is commonly found amongst the Marzen style beers. Overall a good choice when the weather starts to cool down. (306 characters)

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 1 pint 0.9oz bottle into a big mug. The abv is listed on the label at 5.8% and there is no freshness date. This is the first Oktoberfest I have seen this year so I'm sure it's very fresh.

Appearance: The body has a bright gold color with excellent clarity and some visible carbonation. On top it forms a tall bright white head of tightly packed foam. The head has good retention but makes very little lacing.

Taste/Palate: Its medium body has balanced mix of bready malt with nutty and light honey like sweetness backed up buy floral/botanical, almost grassy hops. The finish is quick and refreshing. It just begs for another sip.

Notes: This is an outstanding, highly drinkable Fest bier. It's not very complex but what's there is very good!!! (876 characters)

Pours a lightly hazy, extremely pale, straw colored brew with a small, white head that sticks around a little while. Smells of german malts, yeast, pretty mild. Strange off smell too. Tastes of doughy, bready malts, yeast, distinct "german taste", very light hop spiciness. Mouthfeel is very light and crisp. Pretty drinkable but pretty watery. Not the best example of an authentic German Marzen, or a Marzen period for that matter, but well worth a try. (454 characters)